Spring-like Adventures

I made the most of the few days of Spring-like weather we had recently. I was lucky to have a few days off that coincided with the lovely weather and had a great time getting all the gardening tasks that I’ve been meaning to do for a while now. The weather was so mild on Tuesday, I got to open the windows to let some fresh air into the house. Filbert and Socrates enjoyed peering out the windows from behind the screens.

The Romanesco seeds I sowed last week germinated and I moved them outdoors since it was warm. I will wait for the seedlings to grow true leaves before thinning them. I think the thinnings might make a tasty garnish on a salad when they are ready. The frequent rains we’ve been getting has been great for the garden, I have lovely moss sprouting under some of the hydrangeas and the hellebores are looking perky. The “Honey Hill Joy” hellebores(first two pictures from left below) have finally made a full recovery from the construction trampling they suffered a couple of years ago. The “Jacob” hellebores(2nd and 3rd pictures below) some I got as gifts and a few others I picked up at Ingles and Trader Joe’s before Christmas are still putting out new blooms. Some for the older flowers have even turned into plump seed pods. I placed them in cachepots and have yet to decide on a spot to plant them out yet since they still look so lovely gracing the front porch. Hellebores have become one of my favorite Winter blooming flowers. When most of the garden is bare, they pop up, seemingly unfazed by the erratic weather.

As I mentioned before, my favorite place to read up about shade loving plants is on Carolyn’s Shade Gardens. Carolyn has written articles on Hellebores that contain a wealth of information and inspiration. They are definitely a “must read” for anyone interested in Hellebores. READ HERE: Hellebores at Carolyn’s Shade Gardens

Yes, I know more kitty pictures, I could not resist. They were endlessly fascinated by my gardening activities on the front porch. The dogwood tree is also still full of berries and the kitties continue to stalk the mockingbirds feeding on the berries. I am pretty sure the birds are appreciative that Filbert and Socrates are indoor cats.

I got to spend some time on the squares in Carrollton and Newnan when the weather was nice. The previously green building on Adamson Square has a fresh coat of paint in a new color scheme. First two pictures above are the building halfway done. I noticed today that a few more white highlights have been added to the brickwork. The other two pictures on top are of the building that houses La Trattoria. It sports some lovely brickwork as well and gas lanterns that were added when the building was restored. We made a quick trip to Newnan last Saturday since the weather was nice and enjoyed a little exploring. I enjoyed browsing in the antique stores and Gillyweed. I spotted some caramels and a pussy willow painting by local artist Charlotte Scarce at Gillyweed. What a lovely little shop.

Speaking of pussywillows, the first warm spell of the year is when catkins burst forth from my pussywillow trees. I try to harvest the branches each year and cut the tree back by half since catkins are only formed on new wood. It usually takes me the better part of the day to get each tree trimmed and branches loaded with catkins sorted and bundled. It is quite the workout harvesting the branches from a 20 foot tree. This time around, I had great weather to work with so I went a little further and tried my hand at constructing a pussywillow wreath. After looking at a few wreaths on the internet, I figured the short tips were best for the wreath. I tried several ways of attaching the branches to the wire wreath form and after some experimenting decided the wired faux grapevine was the best one to use.

I am quite happy with how the wreath turned out. This first one took almost three hours before I got it completed. Most of that time experimenting with various wreath forms and construction materials. I learned a lot from the experience and the next one I make will hopefully not take as long. I just about ran out off willow the right size for the wreath so I’ve taken some cuttings that I will plant this Spring. I’m looking forward to making more than just one wreath. The wreath now graces the front door. A lovely Spring welcome, although a little early. Pussywillows always remind me that Chinese New Year is fast approaching. I haven’t quite decided how I’ll celebrate this year yet but I know it will involve feasting of some kind.

The warm weather also has my Fall attempt at snowdrop growing bearing a few flowers. I planted these around Thanksgiving last year from bulbs I picked up on clearance at Pike’s Nursery. They are supposed to be “giant snowdrops” but they are rather tiny. In fact, they are varied in size. I’m hoping if and when they come back next year, they will look more like what’s promised on the packaging.

Although not as big as I expected, I am feeling hopeful since my last attempt at planting snowdrops a year ago resulted in only one bloom out of the dozen bulbs I planted. Trying them in a pot where I could move them around and protect them from marauding rodents seems to have improved my luck. That said, they are simply beautiful.

This attempt is really my ‘warm up”. I feel like I am now ready for my order of snowdrops coming from Carolyn’s Shade Gardens. I have a good feeling I’ll have even better luck since those will be shipped as bare-root plants and not desiccated bulbs. In “Food News at Home” for this week. I cooked two whole chickens.

I’ve been on a mission to use up the various pantry items I’ve gotten on clearance. A sort of “Spring Cleaning” for the pantry. I’ve been going a few weeks now only buying fresh meat, produce and dairy and getting creative with how I cook at home. I came up with quite a lovely version of chicken korma and lots of extra stock for later use from the two chickens. My version is loosely based on a Madhur Jaffrey recipe for chicken korma. I broke the chickens down, reserving the dark meat for the korma and throwing the whole breast into the stock pot with sauteed onions and celery. When the breast were done, I extracted the meat and reserved it for another use and returned the carcases to the pot to simmer some more. The stock I freezed for later.

The dark meat I marinated in a mixture of salt, coriander, ginger, cumin, garlic and cayenne. I used a little Greek yoghurt to help stick the spices to the chicken.

For a simmering liquid, I made a paste out of blanched almonds, fresh garlic, ginger and water. I started the korma by browning some yellow onion in a dutch oven. I browned the marinated chicken under the broiler before adding it to the pot with the onion and simmering liquid.

I threw in a couple of fresh bay leaves from the backyard. The chicken simmered for well over and hour before it was ready(falling off the bone). After the chicken was finally done, I removed it from the bones while I reduced the simmering liquid. When it reduced to more of a thick gravy, I returned the chicken to the pot and seasoned the korma with salt and pepper.

While waiting for the chicken to cook, I got creative with a few more goodies I found in the pantry and some freshly harvested parsley, mint and kale from the backyard. I whipped up my favorite basmati pilaf with cashews and raisins. I found a few threads of saffron and threw those into the rice as well.

Start with a little oil in a dutch oven, saute finely chopped onion(about 1/4 cup). I added some diced celery as well since I had some to be used up. When the veggies are translucent, add cinnamon, cloves and cardamom pods, fry for a few minutes, then add 2 cups basmati rice. Stir to coat rice grains with oil, adding a little more if needed. 2 cups stock is then added. I used fresh chicken stock this time since I had it simmering nearby one burner over. Veggie stock or water would work too. Throw in the saffron, bring to boil then turn down to a low simmer, cover for 15 minutes. The rice will be puffed and dry. At this point I throw in a cup of golden raisins and quickly cover the pot and let it sit for about 10 more minutes before fluffing and stirring in roasted cashews.

I coated some diced sweet potatoes with olive oil, cumin and sea salt and roasted them in the oven till browned. While still hot, I threw in chopped kale, stirred it around till the kale wilted. This is probably my favorite seasonal quick and easy dish at the moment.

The parsley and mint I chopped finely to use as a garnish on the chicken korma. It was a few hours before dinner was ready but it sure was fun. I cooked at a leisurely pace, fresh air drifting in through the open windows and I had leftovers to last all week and perfectly cooked chicken breast for another culinary endeavor, stay tuned for details.